Dr. Patton joined the Baylor faculty in 1980. Prior to joining the faculty he was an NIMH-NINCDS postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and the Department of Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Patton is married and he and his wife have one grown son. Dr. Patton, an avid sensation-seeker, enjoys outdoor activities and has spent time over the years in remote and wilderness areas mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking, canoeing, hunting, and especially enjoys fly fishing and bird watching. When less in need of enhanced arousal he works as a Boy Scout leader and reads history of neuroscience, philosophy and theology.

Academic Interest and Research

Dr. Patton's primary interest has been the biological basis of mental disorders and he is especially interested in understanding the nature of and basis for impulsive behavior and sensation seeking. The personality trait of impulsivity, with the possible exception of intelligence, influences more aspects of human behavior, e.g. from predicting educational success to determining whether someone is able to conform to the mores and folkways of their culture, than any other personality trait. Folks often wonder: why do otherwise bright people do stupid things?